Home Forums Lever Action Central Marlin 336 Lever Actions Free 336!

Well, guess I've been living right, an old Bud brought over an AR-10 for me to rig up with a scope and get him on paper at 100, loaded him up 100 rounds of ammo for his 7 mag too, we were loading all his stuff back into his pickup when he opened the back door and pulled out an old soft gun case with something inside, and said, here, Thanks, and don't open it till I'm gone.

He hit the highway and I unzipped the case, pulled out a cherry 336 Marlin carbine in 35 Remington, it's an old rifle, with a serial number of Mxxxx, I just ordered some 220 gr Speer hot core flat points, hornady brass, and a set of dies from Midway, knocked the rear sight out of the blank and put it in a marked ziplock bag, drove a blank in the dovetail and ordered an all steel Skinner peep sight, the receiver is drilled and tapped for a scope, think this old rifle will look right with a peep and the front iron sight.

Never had or fired a 35 Remington, guessing it should work plenty well for deer and pigs at woods ranges, this is shaping up to be a heck of a hunting season.

Congrats

Thanks Owl, I peered down the bore after cleaning, I believe this rifle has some sort of standard rifling in it, I expected to see micro-groove rifling.

Congrats, indeed!

man you are living right!
the rifling should be Ballard and that gun will take anything except maybe brownies with authority! load some 158 semi wads over trailboss and you have a plinker that will make you giggle.
i have probably taken 20 animals with the 336 35 rem . several more with a model 8 remington . deer of all types, bear (bladk) and 1 elk and 1 moose. as far as my failing memory goes all were 1 shot drop right there.
i am envious of you.
best of luck with that jem.

I'm pretty sure that the "M" prefix makes it 1954 so pre micro groove rifling. Nice rifle!

Congrats on that Gunner!

Like a big dummy I let a cherry 336 35 Rem go that I want back everyday.

Get you some Leverevolution powder and watch that sucker sing! Congrats on a wicked rifle. Very jealous. That’s one of the best and I know you’ll treat it right.

Plus 2 on the leverlution powder. Marlinowners.com has some posted sticky articles on reloading the.35 rem that is well worth reading.

congrats !

date code

http://marlinspares.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/Marlin-Date-codes-ver8-396mb2-1024x791.jpg

Thanks Everyone, glad to hear the old rifle will lay it to elk and moose deerstalker.

10-4 on the M prefix Mike, pre micro groove is the 'ballard' deerstalker is talking about?

LOL on another one getting away beretzs, BTDT myself, Thanks to you and doctor Encore for the leverevolution hit, I was thinking about 21-2150 fps with the 220 Speers, that powder may get it there, I'll read up over at marlinowners too.

Was placing my order at midway today, when I saw there was only one bag of hornady brass left, I had to hurry up with that order, that being said, the 220 Speer was picked in a hurry, didn't have a lot of time to research bullets for the 35 Remington.

But, being a shoulder shooter, and shooting deer in the chest coming in to the rattling horns, as well as busting last ribs and hips on deer slipped up on or slipping out of the area, maybe that heavy 220 will be just fine, it should penetrate really well on the deer and hogs.

Handy date codes there tikkanut, Thanks, looks like M is for 1955.

Congrats! The 336 in 35 Remington is a great combination! Ballard rifling to boot!!!

T.S.

Thank You TexasShooter, I'm really getting screwed up here, I have a nice old steel tubed weaver 3X, have never had a lever action rifle with a scope, dang! I should just go to bed ; )

GREAT DEAL. = LUCKY YOU.

yours, tex

Thanks Tex, I'm about to order a set of weaver bases and rings for this rifle, I had that old 3X on a 358 Norma Mag for near 200 rounds, bet it will hold this 35 just fine, everyone needs at least one lever action with a scope, No?

Good stuff Gunner !

Something to be said about "good stuff happening to good people" !

I am envious. Often thought a 35 remington with a low power scope would be deadly for stillhunting through the timber. Maybe one day!

LOL, dang, I don't know about all that New 2 99's, I've been pretty ugly over politics lately, but Thank You just the same.

10-4 patbrennan, those 220 gr Speers at 2150 guided by that old steel tubed 3X Weaver just may be a real sleeper.

I put the rear sight back in the dovetail, went to town, bought a pound of leverevolution powder, some Weaver bases and rings and mounted the scope, even found an old hammer spur in a drawer for working the hammer under the scope, got the crosshairs level and bore sighted it too, now waiting on brass, dies and brass.

Some don't like the old weaver bases and rings, I too think they're ugly as a mud fence, but, for some reason, they just look right with this setup.

gunner I got one a few months ago a 54 year. put a 1.5/4.5 on it going to be my main gun this year with 220 bullets

I recently picked up some Speer 180 grain to try in my 35 Rem. I have not had a chance to work up loads as yet. Been doing some reading and it appears the 180 grain Speer is a very good all around bullet, good for most anything up to elk. Anxious to try it. By the way, I too, have the Skinner peep on my 336. Bought my 336 new in 1971. I have not hunted with it in many years, but intend to bring it back to life when I can get the new bullets worked into decent loads.
.

I have several Remington Model 8/81s in 35 Rem as well as a Standard Arms G and a Marlin 24" rifle with half mag. I stupidly let go a Remington 740 and an XP-100 in the cartridge in the past. There is a mixture of sights on my guns ranging from the factory leaf sights to three different peep sights to a 3x Weaver in a side mount. The Marlin started with factory leaf sights and a 4x Weaver but changed to a Redfield peep that I picked up cheap. I had to get a higher front sight as it shot a foot high at 50 feet with the factory front. I have not shot anything with the Marlin nor the Standard Arms but the rest have at least one deer under their belt by me. That may change for both guns this year depending on the weather and stand.

I load 200 gr Hornady and Sierra bullets in mine as that weight tends to give a bit more room for powder in the case. I am not too sure about the 220 gr bullets as I believe they are designed more toward the 358 Win and the 35 Whelen. As I shoot some rather old rifles I tend to be a bit conservative in my loadings when they are involved. With the reputation the 35 Rem has with factory rounds I don't think the heavier bullets will add anything to the cartridge.

Congratulations. You've got a great rifle. When I lived in Alaska I had to go through Canada to get to my Sister-in-laws place in Haines Alaska. Of course we couldn't take a handgun so every time I'd take my Marlin 336 35 Remington. They are a great rifle. I use the typical 200 grain Remingtons and they will handle most anything. Instead of a Weaver base, I'd find a Picatinny rail for it. For me with the weaver base the scope comes back too far for me to be comfortable. With the Picatinny rail and they have them for the 336, allows you to adjust it to your comfort. I believe Midway has them. Frankly I'd use a 35 Remington on anything in North America. I've killed brown bear too, and I think the 35 would handle it. I'm sure you will enjoy that for the rest of your years.

the 35 rem with 200gr corelokts is serious whitetail medicine. i've got a bunch of various actions and all shoot the CL's excellently. everything i have shot with it has been an almost instantaneous kill.

and those old marlins from the 50's are slick as snot. especially if they've been used a lot. the action gets a lot of work whether they get shot or not.

gunner500,

Fwiw, at 71YO, I don't see open sights well & scope EVERYTHING but shotguns (that I use w/shot) & my oldest SS rifled muskets.

My personal favorite for the brush country is the 2-3 X Leopolds & Redfields.

yours, tex

Gunner500 -

1st - that's a great story to hear about. I'm glad you posted it.
2nd - I know what you mean about putting a scope on a lever. It always puts me off when I see it.
But, to me the Marlins are the exception both because of the way they mount glass and the way they look, especially with a straight tube blue steel scope like yours. I would just try it before I decided not to use it, especially since its just a few screws one way or the other.


High five and good hunting

Thanks for all the well wishes and advice men, I got a little history on the rifle and the man that bought it new, my old Bud is 72 years old, have always thought of him as a fatherly figure, lost mine at 23 years old, that rifle was his departed wife's granddads gun, sadly, I was a pall bearer at his wife's funeral last year, the grandpa used to love to run coyotes in West Texas with dogs back in the day, that was his deal, he shot plenty and a few deer too.

I have about decided to use that rifle and scope along with the 220 gr Speers at 2150 fps to hunt all game this fall, that's deer and pigs in Ar and Ok, cow elk in Co this Dec, nilgai bull in extreme SE TX in Dec and maybe some TX hogs in early March '19, I think it will get it all done with ease, +3" at 100 will zero at 175 and only down 2"s at 200, I want to honor the long dead Granddad, my old Bud and his Wife, I am deeply humbled that he gave me that rifle.

44mc, good deal and congrats, we may have to compare notes at the conclusion of this years hunting.

Gladesman, that sounds like a plan, I have already ordered a Skinner sight, it will go in a drawer for now, I'll run the old 3X Weaver this year, I need to order some damn red plaid wool ; )

Woodmaster81, nothing wrong with being nice to the old steel, in my case with the 220's, I shoot deer coming into the rattling horns mostly in the chest [long wound channels] or in the shoulders on a hard quartering in angle, also bust hips going in on deer sneaking out of an area, that may help the heavy bullet open up a bit more for good expansion, lord knows the heavy 220's will be good for cow elk, tough nilgai, and busting hogs through the shields.

CaribouJack, Thanks for the advise, and yessir, I will enjoy that rifle with honor for the rest of my days, Bud at the gunshop thinks just like you do, he already had a Warne rail on the counter when I got there, I wanted to keep this rifle like it may have been back in the day if it had worn a scope, the old weavers were about all there was to be had then, oddly enough, with this long tubed weaver 3X scope, and with the ring slots both mounted in the forward position, I have great eye relief, yes they are ugly, but that's okay in this case.

rem141r, you bet slick as snot, I don't believe the newer marlins get love at the factory like these old guns got either, I had to place my bullet, brass and die order in a hurry and didn't get to research the 200 gr cl, I tried to buy two bags of brass, they only had one, I had to hit that order button post haste, maybe these 220's wont let me down.

satx78247, Thanks, and concur I still see okay, but, have never had a lever action rifle with a scope, this will be the one, plus, we all know, if you cant see it you cant kill it, I looked at some brown, black and white cattle here on the farm through the old scope at dusk thirty, I wont have any trouble finding that buck in the brush at 100 yards dusk, he'll be riding home with me.

kragman1, You're most welcome, it's my sincere pleasure, agreed fully on the Marlins and scopes, lever rifles always looked, handled and shot just fine with their factory buckhorn, lyman or redfield receiver peeps, even the old factory bolt peep on a deluxe M-71 in 348W, this rifle and it's old Weaver 3X will be just fine, I'm going to catch hell for using a lever rifle and scope this year, that's okay, I'm just going to have to be 'that guy' this fall, red plaid wool and all, my hunting buds are going to have plenty of fun at my expense with this deal, but I'm going to have a hell of a time anyway.

A "free" rifle is like a free puppy, it is the feeding, toys, and other care that are the main costs rather than the purchase price. And like those free puppies, a free rifle often becomes a favorite.

Congratulations on the rifle and for being the kind of person one would receive such a gift.

ok gunner I am going to load an shoot every bullet I can this year an keep notes

Just wow. Nice score!!

LOL woodmaster81, i'll have to agree to all that.




You bet 44, I'll record, animal, range when shot, how far traveled, bullet penetration, should be plenty to eat at both our places come Spring.

Thanks JeffG818, bullets, brass and dies are on the truck for todays delivery, if they don't drag their sacks too bad, I'll be chronographing loads by sundown today.

Well it's on like donkey-kong now, the 220 gr Speers ran 2175 fps with only a 12 fps extreme spread, I'll take that anyday, cases fell from the action, caseheads miked within specs, primers looked really good too, I even ran a fired piece of brass through the load gate, worked the lever and it picked it right up and into the chamber it went, closed the lever with ease.

These will fly just as expected, +3" at 100 will zero at 175 and be only 2"s low at 200 yards, will shoot for groups tomorrow, if I can keep three in and inch and a half, I'll load the remaining brass to this load and zero the rifle.

With deer on odd angles, hogs, cow elk and tough nilgai, I believe this bullet will serve me well for a one bullet one load setup for this rifle, testing on live game will begin in five weeks over in Arkansas on a private land doe only modern gun hunt.

Sounds good!

Gunner this was Karma. Good in this case. I would like to buy an old ballard rifled JM Marlin. But that means I would have to trudge my way through the gun show aisles until I could find one. 22years working in the prison system here in Misery has soured me for being in the general public. Sometimes I just go to the basement and shoot a bunch of pellets and the feeling of wanting to be in public vanishes. I come up with a good smile on my face. Same smile I get when I think of the old JMs. It would be good to play with the 35 though. I like the medium bores. The ones that kill like crazy but without all the snort of an ouch and ouch. Just an old 35 Remmy, 356 or 358 Winchester, 375 Winchester…………………..

g5m, Thanks, I believe it's going to be a hard, fast and decisive killer, especially after the zero/accuracy check this morning.

Agreed rustyzipper, you men that can work around convicts without ice picking a 12 pack of them per week are much better men than i'll ever be, yourself and wifey have a lot in common, she says it's to people-ee out there, jokes about wanting me to turn this farm into a compound, we'll never leave. this old 35 sure put a smile on my face at the shooting bench this morning, I hope you can find and enjoy an old lever rifle.

Well, load workup, accuracy check, and zero are done, took all of 8 rounds, two rounds at 25 to get centered and headed up, one round at 100 cut the redfield diamond bullseye, up a bit more, then two into the same hole and pulled the last one right for a 2" three shot group at 100 with a 3X scope.

Went up and painted the 200 yard gong, back to the bench and held as close to 4"s from the bottom of the gong as I could and fired two rounds, two shots landed at 6 'oclock right and left about 3"s apart, exactly 2"s from the bottom of the gong, so yes, this rifle zeros at 175 and is 2 inches low at 200, perfect!

The right and left at 100 and 200 are me yanking on that old trigger like a damn ape, the rifle will shoot better than I can shoot it, a little more trigger time and familiarization will only cause groups to shrink.

bow started to day going to shoot the 35 at noon I got my note pad

Let er rip 44, mines ready, will look forward to your report, if you're going to handload your 35, I started at 40 grains of leverevolution powder under the 220's, and stopped when the chrono read 2175 fps, then fired two more to check extreme spread.

got 3 10 round loads with 2 dif weights of powder with 3 dif. powder I have on hand varget bl/c2 &4895

That'll work, I was going to go with varget till beretzs and doctor Encore told me about the leverevolution powder, nice compact powder with little to no compression.

most places I hunt a 65yrd shot is the longest so I do not think i am going to have a problem getting a huntin load going to try some cast after the season is over I like me leaver guns

10-4, same here, the deer I hunt will be within 200 yards, also have heard the elk in Co and nilgai in SE Texas are all shot within 200 yards at the two places i'll be hunting them at, don't think i'll be handicapped at all using this old lever rifle on ALL game this year, save bow and muzzle loader season, I'm by god ready to get blasting!

I am huntin with the 35 all gun season.i am off to shoot now

Good luck, keep em tight!

Thanks for the kind words Gunner. So far I haven't hurt one of the innocent little B's. They're all innocent except for two that said they were guilty. That's in 22 years of Corrections for me, as of Sunday. Can't really be all there, for stayin' that long. I don't have a carbine in a lever except the 39A my folks gave me about '63. The '86 and 95 don't qualify and aren't as handy. 33WCF and 45-70 cause more ruckus than yer 35. Sounds like your new jewel is already purring like a Singer. Congratulations. RZ

LOL, and you're most welcome RZ, I put in my time damn hard long and often as a younger man, it's semi coasting time from here on out, you'll find what you're looking for in a nice 35, they gotta be out there, congrats on hanging on to the 39 too, I've had one for near 30 years, it and this 35 are the only Marlins I have, they'll stay here till I'm gone.

Yessir, it is running fine, just got in from the shop from loading all remaining cases to the load mentioned above, I really like the way the lee factory crimp die squares up and secures those bullets in the cases, have the old rifle out in the gun vise getting most likely 63 years of copper and powder fouling soaked out via wipeout bore cleaner, it'll be cleaned down to the steel come tonight.

up date 2 loads of varget at start load an 1 gr up 3 shots and the same with bl/c2 3/4 inch at 65 yard

Nice, sounds like you got her headed your way 44, I sent beretzs text photos of my shooting, zeroing and accuracy session yesterday, I was so shocked at the accuracy and uniformity I had to have at least one witness.

I like the old 3X Weaver scope, but, that being said, it is of course, old, I'll have a spare 1.5-5 gloss leupold with the premier reticle zeroed to the rifle wearing a spare set of weaver rings for any hunting trips I have to travel any great distance on, hunting retro is going to be fun, but, job number one is getting the animals killed and bringing meat home.

I have a busnell banner 1/5 to 4/5 power on mine for 86 bucks it is hard to beet .i must have 8 or 9 of them I have them on 4-44mag rifles a 444 a 4570 2 357mag a 308 an a few bp guns

I’m hunting with my .30-30 336w again. Last year I spooked a black tail buck racking a round.
I won’t make that mistake this year.

Gunner500: Over the last six decades of my fascination and enjoyment with guns of all kinds, I have only been "gifted" a few firearms!
Those gifts are among my most treasured possessions.
When my time comes I will proudly re-gift those treasures to a chosen few.
I am happy for you - first that you have received, as a gift, such a cool Rifle and secondly that you have such a "good bud" (those are hard to come by!).
Enjoy both.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

Roger that 44, I now have a spare 1.5-5 leupold in a set of weaver low rings zeroed to the rifle, same as the 3X weaver, +3 high at 100, the back edge of a small folder knife i'll carry in my pocket fits the screw slots perfectly if I ever need to change it out in the field or on a hunting trip.

fester, hope you put a tag in the ear of a good black tail this year, the old 30-30 has been getting it done for 125 years.

VarmintGuy, Thanks for the compliments, I'll badly miss hunting with my Sharps rifles this year, with a max range of 200 yards with this lever will mean i'll have to do some serious hunting, 200 yards with a Sharps is a chip shot, on the other hand, with this 3X scope, i'll be able to make shots very late and early I couldn't make with a Sharps or any other iron/peep sighted rifle and a naked eye, though some wont admit it, we all know you cant kill what you cant see.

All that being said, honoring a 30+ year good friend, his passed away wife, and the man that bought the rifle new that I never met, will be a sacrifice i'll gladly make this year, good health and the good lord willing, I may have 30 hunting seasons left in me anyway, these old levers and even Sharps rifles take a backseat to high power glass like Nightforce, and the extreme precision shots can be placed on animals with spinning turrets and a good rangefinder with cartridges such as the 7MSM and my old 300 magnums, this will be a straight [hunting] season.

Good luck to you g500!

Thanks Fester, you too Friend.

Gunner500,
Saw in the thread above that you plan to shoot Nilgai in Texas.

Of the Nilgai I Have shot here, both have been taken at less that 100 yards. It appears to be a matter of cover.
In wide open range they can see you hundreds of yards away, but in thicker cover, you can get much, much closer. Late this spring, I shot this one at less than 20 yards with my .405 double rifle:



BTW, this was in south Texas at Hondo west of San Antonio. Where in SE Texas can you hunt Nilgai?

crshelton, nice shooting with the 405 double, congrats, a Buddy set up the nilgai hunt, I don't know the locale, just that it's in extreme SE Texas and will be this December, I think the old hot cor 220 grain Speer will do just fine on the tough antelope, cant wait to grill, I hear they're fantastic eating.

Yes they are good eating. Had Nilgai taco meat rollups tonight. Tasty and filling. So, I think I will now sleep it off.
I know a site with Nilgai recipes - just google that and you will find them.

NICE! Thanks CRS, I'm amassing a pile of milk jugs for testing this 358 cal 220 gr Speer hot cor at 2175 fps, I'll predict at least 7 jugs penetrated fired from 25 yards, I need to know how deep this little bullet is going to dig into that Nilgai bull.

gunner post the # I am going to try some end to end shots on hogs or line them up what ever kind of shot they will give me I will let them 220s roll

10-4 44mc, will do, need to have Wifey film it with her fancy phone and send it to beretzs, maybe he can post it here so we can all see it.

I called Brownells last week and ordered a little tune up kit for this rifle, got it all in yesterdays mail, new firing pins, springs and retaining pins, new finger lever plunger, spring and pin, 'Smith said bring it in, he's going to give her the onceover and issue a clean bill of health before season begins, this rifle will be ready to run another 63 years with this bit of tlc.

LINK TO niIgai recipes:

https://www.brokenarrowranch.com/Articles/TheSTA.htm

Plus many other game recipes!

NICE! Thanks crshelton, I saved that link in my favorites for wifey to review, looks like a hell of a lot of good eating there.

Nice. This is what I shoot in my 72 vintage Marlin. Crazy accurate. Missed a pig this year underestimating the distance. It will go on next years hunt.

https://makerbullets.com/proddetail.php?prod=358200LVR

Thanks Ed, and that will work, I'll bring my Marlin 35 Remington if I get to hunt pigs with you guys this Spring, I should have 5 or 6 deer, a cow elk and a big nilgai bull in the freezers with it by then, would love too see how the 220 gr Speer hot-cors hold up on a tough pig slammed good and hard up close.

You will be more than pleasantly surprised at the lack of recoil and amount of killing it does!

Pretty sweet deal there Gunner.

Thanks T, that rifle is ready and setting on go, I'm going to open a special private land doe only hunt over in Arkansas in the morning, will see how those 220 Speers work, I'll be going for both shoulders and/or shoulder quartering in or reverse, last rib in and up through and out the shoulder, bet I wont catch a bullet for weights and measurements.

Well CRAP! going to rain all day tomorrow, supposed to stop about 9 a.m. Sunday morning, I'll be there and waiting!

Gunner, any updates and photo's of the rig?


Good information on bullets here,

https://www.marlinowners.com/forum/...ullet-performance-part-ii-handloads.html

Hello RDW, DAMN, and Thanks! those 220 gr Speers looks amazing, near or far, as 200 yards is my max range with this rifle, my load leaves at 2175 fps with the same bullet.

And No Sir, haven't fired a shot, even though I could have already tagged out, you see, between the time I started this thread and now, some real HOGS of buck deer have shown up, I've held my fire on everything, including plenty of single legal doe deer and even one 17" 8pt, the big boys are going to be in play soon, maybe I can smack one.

If not, I'll have plenty of time to tag out on deer at the end of the season, plus, I have nilgai in December and cow elk in January, that old rifle will get a good workout for sure before Spring.

gunner up date went from 34gr to 36 gr of varget 3/4 inch at 70 yards went to 3/8inch at 70 yards . shot a doe at 40 yards sat broke both front legs sent bone shards in to the heart .low front shoulder shot . bang flop I like this 35

Good deal 44, Congrats, I'd have had something to report by now if that damn 180+ class monster hadn't have showed, I keep thinking he'll be behind a doe or running with smaller bucks,, damn he's a stud!

keep us posted gunner

Will Do.

Well, the little Marlin 35 Remington barked at it's first head of game in my hands this morning at 8 a.m. over in Arkansas, a beautiful mature 8pt buck deer was working a hillside under a stand of white oaks, 153 yards away the 220 gr Speer busted straight through both shoulders, it put his face in the leaves and he took off like a football lineman pushing himself with his back legs.

He stopped in some brush with only his raised hams exposed, I gave him one through both hams, down he went for keeps, a hell of a fun hunt on a breezy 26 degree Arkansas morning.

You guys are right about the 35 Remington and the 220gr Speer bullet, what a combo, that big bullet will really go to work and show it's stuff on nilgai and cow elk.

good deal gunner this year is my first time with a 35 I have used marlin lever guns for years went to bolt guns & high fps rounds but the joy was not their I am back home with my cowboy guns where I belong

Congrats on getting planted back at the Home20 44mc, I may take the little 35 back out in the morning, it's going to be a breezy 25 degree morning again, the bucks are getting it on here now, maybe I can sneak to a couple hundred yards on another one.

Both shoulders and both hams. Well, I guess you still have the backstrap to eat.

The .35 is a great rifle. You must be one #*&^ of a reloader.

Enjoy!

LOL, Thanks, and no Frontiersman, the 220 gr Speer is a hell for stout bullet, even stouter when it slowed on impact at 153 yards, entries were caliber sized holes, exits were no bigger than a dime, on the side of that hill I got too see the whole thing play out, the first shot through the shoulders rocked the hell out of that buck, put his face in the leaves, he had his back legs splayed out trying to remain on his feet, the double ham hit put him down hard.

I may have lost a couple handfuls of fajita meat, he weighed at least 200lbs on the hoof, good heavy mature white tail buck, no bloodshot at all, as far as reloading, this load duplicates Buffalo Bores load with the 220 gr Speer, my load leaves at 2175 fps from the Marlin, I do use the Lee factory crimp die to get everything squared up straight and tight, a really good shooting accurate load, I cant wait to see it work on a nilgai bull and maybe a cow elk.

I learned with 350 gr RN out of my 45 70 that high shoulder hits with big heavy bullets don’t do like high velocity bullets that fragment. It still puts the stop on em for a follow up shot though, don’t it. And not much bloodshot meat.

Damn right it does Curdog, all the way down to 40 and 45 cal Sharps rifles with their slugs punching through at a very pedestrian 1100-1250 fps, never seen anything quite like it, I hunted the little 336 again today, I think the big boys are locked down with hot does, saw plenty of young bucks chasing does again today, could have tagged out today.

Don't ask me why, but a guy I know used those 220 gain Speer flat points on moose and mostly lung shot them and they did not go far. He was firing them out of a .358 Norma, go figure. Skinner Sights are good stuff and he makes one with a cut out for use with medium height Talley rings so a guy could zero a scope in QD rings ad toss it in his pack when he wanted to just go with the peep.

I called Skinner Sights years ago and had him make me up one that was a little longer on the receiver and he engraved Skinner Alaskan on it, pretty cool stuff. It's on my Marlin 45-70 and I may order one of the ones cut for the Talley's and put my Leupold VX3 1.5-20x20 with the German #4 reticle on it. A quick and light weight set up.

Buffalo Bore loads those 220 grain Speers to 2,200 fps mv and when I called Tom the owner he said the loads were safe in any Marlin, no matter when it was made. That is a mighty potent load for any thing in North America.

Congrats on your new rifle!

Pretty amazing gift and cool thread. Any updates gunner?

1AKshooter, LOL, having never hunted moose but after I saw what that 220gr Speer did to hardpack glossy magazines stacked tight in a cardboard moving box with cow leg bones tucked in between, I'd not hesitate shooting a moose or anything else in Alaska anywhere in the vitals this side of 200 yards.

gerry35, the heavy old mature 8pt buck I shot last November is the only thing I have to report with my 35 Remington, the cow elk hunt got cancelled till this year, the guy that invited me out had a hell of a job offer he had to jump right on, the Nilgai hunt in Texas had me dialing my Nightforce on a 7mm Mashburn Super for a 400 yard zero, good lord that's big country, the little 35 would have been soundly outranged there.

Excellent, good luck on the Nilgai this fall. The 220 gr Speer is a favourite for a couple of friends in a 356 and 358 on everything from deer up to grizzly and moose. Your load is not far off what they get for speed. Sounds like you have a great load in that 35 Rem that can do pretty much everything at reasonable distance. I'm going to try the 180 gr Speer in my 358 for deer this year but those 220's of yours sound very tempting for an all around load.

Not sure how I missed this thread so long. On receiving a free 336 as described .... YOU SUCK!

On the 220 speer ... it has a rep for being tougher than other Speer bullets. Not sure why that is and haven't ever used it, but I've been tempted to in my .358 Win and .35 Rem. The .35 Core-Loct RN also has a great reputation and I've got Boo Koos of them for my 1950 336SC .35 Rem. So far I've only run Hornady 200 gr Interlocks in my .358 Win.

Hope you get a Nilgai and report back. They're supposed to be some tough beasts so should provide a nice test for the 220 speer.

Thanks Gerry and GringoLoco, and yes, I have heard I suck before on this freebie deal! the Nilgai will have to be taken with a longer range rig, that is big country down there, the cow elk in the timber is another story altogether, and agreed on the Speer 220's, I went with that big bullet exactly because cow elk, nilgai were on the menu for last fall, that said, when I get these shot up i'll run the 180gr Speer of the same construction.

Don't believe i'll run into a deer or pig that will hold the 180's either, even though the 220's leaving my rifle at 2175 are +3 at 100 for a 175 yard zero and only 2" down at 200 yards, plenty of accuracy for clean hits at those ranges, the old 35 Remington lever guns loaded full tilt are some pretty serious hammers.